Eddie Cochran Time Line and Achievements on www.eddiecochran.info

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Eddie Cochran Time Line

1938 - October 3

Edward Raymond (Eddie) Cochran, son of Frank and Alice Cochran, is born in Albert Lea, Minnesota. Eddie has one older sister, Gloria, and two older brothers, Bill and Robert. Bill teaches Eddie the first couple of chords on the guitar.

late 1940s

Frank, Alice and Eddie Cochran move to Oklahoma. Because of serious health problems for Eddie they move back to Albert Lea.

1951

The Cochran family leave for Bell Gardens, a suburb of Los Angeles, California.

1951 - September

Eddie is enrolled in Bell Gardens Junior High. He becomes friends with Connie 'Guybo' Smith who plays bass, steel guitar and mandolin. Connie and Eddie start rehearsing together and have a performance at school. Guybo will become Eddie's bass player and he is heard on most records from Eddie's professional career.

1953

Eddie meets local musician Chuck Foreman. They experiment with Chuck's two-track tape recorder. The couple record songs like Stardust, Candy Kisses, The Poor People Of Paris, Hearts of Stone and Cannonball Rag.

1954 - June

Eddie graduates from Junior High.

1954 - October

Eddie meets country singer Hank Cochran and in january 1955 Hank offers Eddie a job as his guitar accompanist. Eddie leaves school and for the next 18 months Hank and Eddie will be playing and recording together as The Cochran Brothers.

1955 - May

At Sunset Recorders in Hollywood The Cochran Brothers record four tracks of which Mr Fiddle and Two Blue Singin' Stars are released on Ekko 1003. Guilty Conscience and Your Tomorrows Never Come are issued on Ekko 1005 later that year.

1955 - June

Eddie joins the Musicians' Union.

1955 - October

Eddie and Hank meet Jerry Capehart, an aspiring songwriter who is looking for artists to demo his songs. Near the end of 1955 Jerry starts promoting The Cochran Brothers.

1955 - autumn

The Cochran Brothers appear on The Big D Jamboree.

1956 - January

On Cash 1021 Walkin' Stick Boogie coupled with Rollin' is released as Jerry Capehart featuring the Cochran Brothers.

1956 - April/May

In april or may 1956 The Cochran Brothers cut four rock and roll songs of which Tired & Sleepy and Fool's Paradise are released on EKKO 3001. Slow Down and Open The Door are released 26 years later by the Rockstar label. This is the last session of The Cochran Brothers.

1956 - July

Skinny Jim bw Half Loved, Eddie's first solo-single is released on CREST 1026. This is his only single on the Crest label and doesn't chart.

1956 - late July

Eddie is asked by producer Boris Petroff to sing a part in 'Do-Re-Mi' (later re-titled 'The girl can't help it') and records Twenty-Flight Rock and Dark Lonely Street at Gold Star Studio in Hollywood.

1956 - August 14

Eddie's classic performance of Twenty-Flight Rock for 'The Girl Can't Help It' is filmed at Fox Studios in Hollywood.

1956 - September 8

Eddie signs a one-year contract with Liberty.

1956 - December

'Untamed Youth' is the next movie in which Eddie plays and sings a little part as the character named Bong. The song is Cotton Picker and is recorded at Gold Star Studio in Hollywood. The star of the movie is Mamie van Doren.

1957 - January

Eddie's first single for Liberty is a cover of Johnny Dee's Sittin' In The Balcony. It is released with Dark Lonely Street. The single eventually gets to number 18, Johnny Dee's original stalls at number 38.

1957 - May/August

Eddie records the tracks of his debut album 'Singin' To My Baby'. It will be the only album issued in his lifetime. Songs recorded include: One Kiss (also released on single), Have I Told You Lately That I Love You and Completely Sweet. Drive-In Show and Am I Blue were also recorded at these sessions and released as Eddie's third Liberty single which reached nr 82 in the charts.

1957 - October

Eddie tours Australia with Gene Vincent, Little Richard and Elis Lesley (the female Elvis Presley) in The Biggest Show Of Stars for 1957. This is the first American rock and roll show ever to come to Australia. Every single date was sold out. This is also the tour where Little Richard throws his jewellery into the water, leaves show business and devotes himself to religion.

1958 - March

Eddie joins a Gene Vincent session and sings back-up with the Blue Caps on seven songs. Among the songs recorded are Git It, Teenage Partner and Lovely Loretta.

1958 - March

Eddie and his touring band Dick D'Agostin And The Swingers are involved in the music making for the movie 'Hot Rod Gang'. At a session in march 1958 they back up John Ashley on Annie Laurie and Hit And Run Lover. Eddie is not credited for his performances.

1958 - June 11

Liberty releases Summertime Blues backed with Love Again. The single peaks at number 8 and is Eddie's biggest hit ever in the United States. The novelty cat fish vocals are by Eddie himself.

1958 - October

The follw-up to Summertime Blues is C'mon Everybody b/w Don't Ever Let Me Go. It gets no higher than number 35 on the Billboard Hot 100. In the United Kingdom it climbs to number 6.

1958 - December

Eddie plays at The Loews State Theatre in New York. An all-star show hosted by DJ Alan Freed. Among the other artists are Chuck Berry, Jackie Wilson and Bo Diddley.

1959 - January

Eddie can be seen in the movie 'Go, Johnny, Go!' performing Teenage Heaven. One of the great guitar players of the era dances with his guitar (!) during the sax solo. Chuck Berry, Jackie Wilson and the Ritchie Valens are also in the movie.

1959 - February 3

Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper are killed in a plane crash. Two days later Eddie Records Three Stars, a song penned by DJ Tommy Dee. Liberty doesn't release the song because they feel they can't get a satisfactory master. During the song Eddie breaks into tears several times.

1959 - summer

Somethin' Else gets to number 58 in the Billboard charts. It is his seventh and last hit in the Billboard charts.

1960 - January 8

On his last session for Liberty Eddie records Three Steps To Heaven, Cherished Memories and Cut Across Shorty with the remaining Crickets as back-up band. After the session he leaves for the United Kingdom to join Gene Vincent in a tour of the United Kingdom.

1960 - January 16

Eddie appears on the first of four TV-shows 'Boy Meets Girls'. Till April 16 Eddie's tours with Gene Vincent and appears on several radio and TV-shows. Eddie and Gene make a big impression on the Britisch teenagers and will be a lasting influence on the musicians in that country.

1960 - April 17

On route to the airport, the taxi which carries Eddie, his fiancee Sharon Sheeley and Gene Vincent, is involved in an accident near Chippenham. Sheeley and Vincent are only slightly hurt but Eddie dies of severe head injuries later that night (for a detailed account of the accident see the Dark Lonely Street section of this biography).

1960 - May

Three Steps To Heaven is phostumously released in the UK and is a number 1 hit. The contrast is high with the US where the single doesn't even reach the Top 100. Also released is the Eddie Cochran Memorial Album

1962 - January 5

Another posthumous Eddie Cochran compilation, Never to Be Forgotten, is released.

1968 - May

A Fifties revival sends Eddie Cochran’s reissued “Summertime Blues” to #34 in the U.K. This comes close on the heels of Blue Cheer’s acid-rock cover version, which reached #14 in the U.S.

1980 - March

Eddie Cochran’s death 20 years earlier is marked by the U.K. release of a box set, 20th Anniversary Album.

1987 - January 21

Eddie Cochran is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the second annual induction dinner. Mick Jones of Foreigner is the presenter.

1988 - November

The six-disc (or 4 CD) Eddie Cochran Box Set is released on Liberty Records. It is the most complete collection of Eddie Cochran masters to date.

Some of Eddie Cochran's achievements

Eddie Cochran US music sheet for Sittin' In The Balcony written by Johnny Dee		Eddie Cochran's USA hits	chart	Eddie Cochran US music sheet for Summertime Blues written by Eddie Cochran and Jerry Capehart
	1957	Sittin' in the balcony	18
	1957	Drive in show	82
	1958	Jeannie Jeannie Jeannie	94
	1958	Summertime Blues	8
	1958	C'mon Everybody	35
	1959	Teenage heaven	99
	1959	Somethin' Else	58


Top half of the Billboard magazine chart of april 3, 1957...	... and the lower half of the charts ...

... Elvis is still king ...	... where we find Eddie in good company!	'Sittin' In The Balcony'

Eddie Cochran publicity picture from his record company 'Liberty'
		The Billboard Hot 100 from week 24, 1958. Eddie enters at number 94 with C'mon Everybody ...

	... head to head with his pal Ritchie Valens on number 93 with 'Donna'!	'C'mon Everybody'

Eddie Cochran played in three famous rock and roll movies:

THE GIRL CAN'T HELP IT	1956
UNTAMED YOUTH	1957
GO, JOHNNY GO!	1959

'Go, Johnny Go!' lobbycard. Starring Jimmy Clanton, Chuck Berry, Ritchie Valens, Jackie Wilson and ... Eddie Cochran!

'Untamed Youth' lobbycard. Eddie on the left playing his guitar for Mamie van Doren.

Eddie Cochran performing 'Twenty-Flight Rock' in 'The Girl Can't Help It'

Eddie Cochran entertaining the cast of 'Untamed Youth'

Eddie Cochran performing 'Teenage Heaven in 'Go, Johnny Go!'

In 1987 Eddie Cochran was inducted into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame together with Bo Diddley, Bill Haley, Ricky Nelson, Roy Orbison and Carl Perkins.

UK sheet music Summertime Blues written by Eddie Cochran and Jerry Capehart

Eddie Cochran's 12 UK hits		nr
1958	Summertime Blues	18
1959	C'mon Everybody	6
1959	Somethin' Else	22
1960	Hallelujah! I Love Her So	22
1960	Three Steps To Heaven	1
1960	Sweetie Pie	38
1960	Lonely	16
1961	Weekend	16
1961	Jeannie, Jeannie, Jeannie	30
1963	My way	23
1968	Summertime blues	34
1988	C'mon Everybody	14

'Summertime Blues' and 'Three Steps To Heaven'

EDDIE COCHRAN IS A (CO)WRITER OF MORE THAN 50 SONGS:

AH, PRETTY GIRL Eddie Cochran/Jerry Capehart A MILLION TEARDROPS Eddie Cochran ANNIE HAS A PARTY Eddie Cochran/Jerry Capehart BIG RED APPLE Eddie Cochran/Jerry Capehart BOLL WEEVIL SONG Eddie Cochran/Jerry Capehart BREAD FRED Eddie Cochran/Jerry Capehart CHICKEN SHOT BLUES Eddie Cochran/Jerry Capehart C'MON EVERYBODY Eddie Cochran/Jerry Capehart COMPLETELY SWEET Eddie Cochran/Jerry Capehart COUNTRY JAM Eddie Cochran DARK LONELY STREET Eddie Cochran/Jerry Capehart DRIVE-IN SHOW Eddie Cochran/Jerry Capehart EDDIE'S BLUES Eddie Cochran/Jerry Capehart FOOL'S PARADISE Eddie Cochran/Hank Cochran/Jerry Capehart GUITAR BLUES Eddie Cochran GUITY CONCIENCE Eddie Cochran/Hank Cochran GUYBO Eddie Cochran/Jerry Capehart HAMMY BLUES Eddie Cochran HEART OF A FOOL Jerry Capehart/Eddie Cochran/Hank Cochran HOORAY FOR WEEKEND Moore/Eddie Cochran/Jerry Capehart I HATES RABBITS Eddie Cochran/Jerry Capehart I'M READY Eddie Cochran/Hank Cochran/Jerry Capehart INSTRUMENTAL BLUES Eddie Cochran I REMEMBER Eddie Cochran/Jerry Capehart JAM SANDWICH Eddie Cochran/Jerry Capehart JUNGLE JINGLE Eddie Cochran MEET MR. TWEEDY Eddie Cochran MEAN WHEN I'M MAD Eddie Cochran/Jerry Capehart MY LOVE TO REMEMBER Eddie Cochran/Jerry Capehart MY WAY Eddie Cochran/Jerry Capehart NICE 'N' EASY Eddie Cochran ONE KISS Eddie Cochran/E.Russel 00 BA LA BABY Eddie Cochran/Jerry Capehart/L.Adelson/L.Baxter OPEN THE DOOR Eddie Cochran/Hank Cochran/Jerry Capehart PINK PEG SLACKS Eddie Cochran/Hank Cochran/Jerry Capehart PRETTY GIRL Eddie Cochran/Jerry Capehart RAIN Eddie Cochran SCRATCHIN' Eddie Cochran/Jerry Capehart SHOTGUN WEDDING THEME Eddie Cochran/Jerry Capehart SKINNY JIM Eddie Cochran/Jerry Capehart SLOW DOWN Eddie Cochran/Hank Cochran/Jerry Capehart SONG OF NEW ORLEANS Eddie Cochran/Jerry Capehart STRING FEVER Eddie Cochran STROLLIN' GUITAR Eddie Cochran/Jerry Capehart SUMMERTIME BLUES Eddie Cochran/Jerry Capehart SWEETIE PIE Eddie Cochran/Jerry Capehart/Russell TEENAGE CUTIE Eddie Cochran/Jerry Capehart TEENAGE HEAVEN Eddie Cochran/Jerry Capehart TELL ME WHY Eddie Cochran THE SCREAM Eddie Cochran/Jerry Capehart THE PIED PIPER Eddie Cochran/Hank Cochran/Jerry Capehart THREE STEPS TO HEAVEN Eddie Cochran/Bobby Cochran TIRED AND SLEEPY Eddie Cochran/Hank Cochran/Jerry Capehart TWENTY FLIGHT ROCK Eddie Cochran/Ned Fairchild UNDYING LOVE Eddie Cochran/Jerry Capehart YESTERDAY'S HEARTBREAK Eddie Cochran/Jerry Capehart

THE SONGS OF EDDIE COCHRAN ARE RECORDED BY NUMEROUS ARTISTS:

GARY ALLAN, THE ALL-NITERS, THE APOLLOES, THE BEACH BOYS, THE BEATLES, MERV BENTON, THE BLACK KEYS, BON JOVI, BOW WOW, NATAHN CAVALERI, BOOMER CASTLEMAN, BLUE CHEER, THE CLASH, THE CRICKETS, DAVE CURTISS AND THE TREMORS, DE LA SOUL, DIONYSOS, DRY ROT, Mick Farren, THE FLAMIN' GROOVIES, THE FLYING LIZARDS, BILLY FORREST AND THE GIANTS, BOBBY FULLER, ROBERT GORDON (and Link Wray), The Guess Who, Guitar Wolf, Hanson, DEBORAH HARRY, Heartsdales, Eddie Meduza, HEINZ, Levon Helm, IAN HUNTER, ALAN JACKSON, JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS, Jussi & The Boys, LA MUERTE, LED ZEPPELIN, MYRON LEE, THE LEGENDS, Little River Band, THE LORDS, Takako Minekawa, CHEECH MARIN, PAUL McCARTNEY, GREG MICHAELS AND THE ALLIES BOULEVARD BAND, THE MOVE, JIM MUNDY, Motörhead, SANDY NELSON, NEON ROSE, OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN, THE NEW YORK DOLLS, The Old Spice Boys, The Ordinary Boys, BUCK OWENS, nrbq, PAPA DOO RUN RUN, BOBBY PECK, TOM PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS, THE RATTLES, BURCH RAY, Terry Reid, THE ROLLING STONES, RUSH, ERNST SCHULTZ, BRIAN SETZER, SNOOP DOGG, SEX PISTOLS, SHOWADDYWADDY, SLADE, CARL SMITH, THE SORROWS, CHRIS SPEDDING, SPIC & SPAN, BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, STRAY CATS, THE SURFARIS, THE STUN GUNZ, James Taylor, TEENAGE HEAD, GEORGE THOROGOOD AND THE DESTROYERS, TIGER ARMY, The Treads, T-REX, THE TROPHIES, TWENTY-NINETEEN, Über Kings, UFO, RITCHIE VALENS, VAN HALEN, BOBBY VEE, THE VELAIRES, THE VENTURES, SID VICIOUS, VIPERS SKIFFLE GROUP, THE WHITE STRIPES, THE WHO, Warren Zevon

Acknowledgements: Thanks Zein Eddin for providing the scan of Summertime Blues US music sheet